‘I Have Moved On’

PETER KING: What’s your reaction to Aaron Hernandez’s being arrested and cut from the team, and how will his absence affect your offense?

TOM BRADY: I’ve seen a lot of things over 13 years, and what I have learned is that mental toughness and putting aside personal agendas for what’s in the best interest of the team matters most. My job is to play quarterback, and I’m going to do that the best way I know how, because I owe that to my teammates regardless of who is out there on the field with me. I have moved on. I’m focusing on the great teammates I have who are committed to helping us win games. The only thing I care about is winning. Nothing is going to ever get in the way of that goal. I’m just excited to report to camp and see what we can accomplish as a team. The fate of our season will be determined by the players in our locker room—nothing else.

KING:You turn 36 in August. Five years ago you said you wanted to play until you were 40. Now?

BRADY: The way I feel now, it’s beyond 40. I have a lot of goals, and I am in this for the long haul. I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Whether the team wants me, or whether something [like an injury] happens tomorrow to stop me from playing, that remains to be seen. But my training, my nutrition, the bodywork I do—I can’t see not playing at any time in the near future. There’s nothing I love to do more. Whether the New England Patriots want me, or anyone wants me, I know I want to play for quite a while.

When legends meet. (Winslow Townson/SI)

KING:You’re unusually friendly with Peyton Manning. Will you still be friends when you’re 70?

BRADY: Yeah, I hope so. We’re pretty good friends. I like that. It’s important to me. Peyton has two brothers he’s really close to; I don’t have a brother. We’re competitors on the field, but there’s no reason we can’t be good friends off it. There’s not many people who understand what our jobs are really like, on and off the field. Over the years, I’ve taken my cues on how to act as a player and a leader from lots of guys I respect around the league. Peyton’s one of those. He always knows how to act, what to say, how to represent the game right way. That’s how I want to be.

What are most of you people talking about? What would you do if your co-worker murdered, or reportedly, murdered someone? Quit your job? Refuse to work for a given amount of time? Simply put NO!! You would go right back to work, the next day even. He cannot control anything in the Hernandez situation, and commenting or speculating on it would help how? Seriously people get your head outta your a****.

Oh you people are funny. The question was "how will this affect your offence?" and wouldn't you know...the cocky SOB answered the god darn question. What a jerk. Can't win anything now without cheating. Well...other than almost every game he plays in.

As usual with Brady, it's all bout Tom UGG. Does it dawn on him that there are victims of this episode and not everybody gives a crap about the Cheaters? At least one and maybe three murders and Brady has "moved on". Sorry excuse for a human being, but then again, he does drive the sun across the sky every day. Right? Just ask him.

Come on, how does three questions constitute an interview? I know everyone loves to slobber Brady and can't wait to hear what the Gawd says but this is hardly a story. This could have waited until a full (and real) interview was ready to be released. I'm sorry but this did not need to be a "story".

People saying Brady dodged the AH question...the investigation is still ongoing, if I were Brady I'd be careful with my words as well. I seriously doubt he and AH were friendly off the field, so there is nothing to be gained by injecting himself into the situation when he's trying to prepare for the upcoming season.

Starstruck: why is Tom Brady "on the hook"? The only "hook" he should be in is making the Patriots a better team this year. He had nothing to do with the Hernandez incident - what would you like him to say? Something that the media and fans could take out of context and create a big distraction to the Patriots? I think that many of today's media have that same exact modus operandi of trying to "catch" a quote and create havoc, sometimes by even taking it out of context. Its an unfortunate dynamic. I applaud Brady for being so good at saying the right things for the team and not taking the bait.

DId Peter wipe his chin off after he was done with Brady or did he lick his lips, smack his fingers and savor every drop?

First its his awful political rants in MMQB and now this dreadfully dull new site for him. I got bored with MMQB last season and don't see myself going back if this is the extent of his so called journalism.

First of all, folks, let's give Brady a break. If we're looking for answers to life's tough questions or want deep insight into the mysteries of the universe, it probably would be best not to ask an NFL quarterback. Although the QBs are notches above the mentality of most players, that probably isn't saying very much. Tom Brady works very hard at his craft, plays his heart out on Sundays, has a gorgeous wife and barrels of money, and lives a life most of us will never know. He answered truthfully, "My job is to give my all to the team, to have winning as my only goal. I've seen a lot of changes in my years with the Patriots. In other words, I've seen 'em come, and I've seen 'em go." Obviously I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of the big interview. What did we expect - Tom Brady becoming part of Hernandez's defense team?

This site will be gone in say 6-7 months. No talent other than Peter, however Peter has unfortunately become too close w/Goodell and will never write something critical. Lets face it, Roger has done a horrendous job, especially in the past 3 years

@mjhellund To be fair, Tom Terrrrrific is probably just toeing the Corporate line.

BB gave the official Corporate statement today, sincerity, sadness and all.

I'm sure everyone in the Pats organization has their marching orders, basically to say nothing about AH at all. And, given the severity of the situation, I can't really fault them at all.

Sure, it would be safe to allow statements like BB gave today, along the lines of it being a sad, sad situation, loss of life, etc. But, even giving that much latitude to the players and organization as a whole, would undoubtedly lead to stupid/embarrassing/even legally liable statements by someone in the organization.

@randomdeletionI don't see what your problem is. A star player got interviewed, and it included his first public comments regarding a high-profile teammate being charged with murder. Seems worthy of publication to me.

@Finatic I personally enjoy these articles, classy writing. nobody is doing drugs, killing anyone, getting suspended. Peter is asking great football questions about players we want to hear about. I enjoyed Tom's answers. Just because the media as a whole is cynical and caters to our pessimistic side way too much. A feel good article is certainly welcome. I enjoyed. if you don't enjoy... you are free to go...

@mystafugee Why should he answer these questions? He won't be able to win with the cyber-screamers regardless of his answer. They will toss tantrums and yell at the guy no matter what he says. Moving on is his best option, yet some of the deeper thinkers in cyberspace are still having a fit.

@Finatic For those who understand that an interview consists of questions and answers, yes that was an interview. I now realize that you don't. It seems like for you, it was more of a fantasy piece. Again, good luck with that.